Please, don’t pinch

Amidst the daily grind, the exhausting hours and the challenges that spread rocks along the path, I sometimes forget where I’m at.

The past few decades literally have been a dream come true, since a small Nevada newspaper gave an untested former Marine a chance to be a reporter.

The ride has been non-stop since —not only taking me to all parts of California and Oklahoma, but also carrying me on a journey of discovery and amazing opportunities.

How many of you as children and teenagers worshipped a sports great?

I’m certain there’s a healthy portion of readers that would have yearned to spend a lunch with Bud Wilkinson or chat with Tom Landry or Roger Staubach.

My job gave me that opportunity a quarter-century ago when I got to sit down with Joe Kapp for an uninterrupted hour.

As the Minnesota Viking quarterback, Kapp had been my boyhood athletic idol and the magic had never died.

When he arrived in Sacramento to coach an Arena Football League team, I made an appointment — ostensibly to talk about his new job, but actually to rub elbows with this legend.

We met in the small apartment the team rented him to live in and just chatted about his colorful career as a player and coach.

I also applied for a photo pass for two or three Sacramento Kings basketball games.

It turned out to be a painful proposition — for a quarter at a time, photographers had to sit cross legged on the edge of the court. But, what a treat to see the game up close and personal, just three or four feet from the action!

In the hallway outside the locker rooms, I stood near Charles Barkley as he renewed some California friendships, interviewed Spud Webb, saw Danny Ainge, interviewed Jerry Sloan, walked in the visitors lockerrom, where the Utah Jazz giant Mark Eaton sat on a bench and enjoyed other experiences in seeing some of the NBA’s greatest talent of the era.

Near the A’s bench, Mark McGuire — displaying arms of length and power I’d never seen before — stood in civilian clothes, holding his son.

Rickey Henderson also chatted with me in a friendly manner — as his batting turn approached — although I couldn’t understand him due to the crowd noise.

One Christmas day, I drove to San Francisco to watch the 49ers play the Houston Oilers.

Standing on the San Francisco side of the field, I took photos of Steve Young warming up by throwing balls to Jerry Rice.

Houston featured another NFL quarterback legend in Warren Moon.

On another occasion, I covered the Holiday Bowl. As I wandered through the tunnel onto the field, BYU coach LaVel Edwards strolled just a few feet in front of me — but I was too shy to approach him.

During my stay in a southern California community, I had the chance to visit March Air Force base to interview some Marines getting ready to deploy to Kuwait and Saudi Arabia as part of Desert Storm.

What a privilege to chat with these warriors before they boarded the winged chariots to travel to their mission.

Six months later, I was on hand when groups of them returned.

I think of the interesting high school and college coaches I’ve had the opportunity to meet and get to know — a wealth of unforgettable personalities and philosophies.

Shortly after I arrived in Bartlesville, I heard about Paul Endacott, then in his 90’s.

I feasted on that interview — talking to a man who had grown up with Dr. James Naismith, the creator of basketball.

Mr. Endacott had helped Dr. Naismith formulate some of the rules of basketball that are still in use.

Jess “Cab” Renick was another legend I met and interview in Bartlesville. He was the second Native American to win an Olympic gold medal (men’s basketball, 1948) and also had played for Mister Iba at Oklahoma A&M